Matthew 2:18

2:18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and loud wailing, ¹ 

Rachel weeping for her children,

and she did not want to be comforted, because they were ²  gone.” ³ 

Matthew 3:17

3:17 And ⁴  a voice from heaven said, ⁵  “This is my one dear Son; ⁶  in him ⁷  I take great delight.” ⁸ 

¹ tc The LXX of Jer 38:15 (31:15 ET) has “lamentation, weeping, and loud wailing”; most later mss (C D L W 0233 ˹³ 33 Ï) have a quotation in Matthew which conforms to that of the LXX (θρῆνος καὶ κλαυθμός καὶ ὀδυρμός; qrhno" kai klauqmo" kai odurmo"). But such assimilations were routine among the scribes; as such, they typically should be discounted because they are both predictable and motivated. The shorter reading, without “lamentation and,” is thus to be preferred, especially since it cannot easily be accounted for unless it is the original wording here. Further, it is found in the better mss along with a good cross-section of other witnesses (א B Z 0250 ˹ pc lat co).

² tn Grk “are”; the Greek text uses a present tense verb.

³ sn A quotation from Jer 31:15.

⁴ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.

⁵ tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.

⁶ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

⁷ tn Grk “in whom.”

⁸ tn Or “with whom I am well pleased.”